1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to cargo restraint or dunnage apparatus particularly suitable for restraining wheeled carts or hand trucks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cargo restraints and dunnage equipment is used within railroad cars, truck trailers, truck beds, and the like, to restrain a load from shifting on the vehicle during travel, stopping and acceleration. Such devices may include straps, partition plates, abutments, and the like, and examples of such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,278,376; 4,465,413; 4,717,298; 4,955,771; and 5,137,405. While devices such as those shown in the aforementioned patents restrain the movement of loads within vehicle cargo areas, such devices are not readily usable to restrain small wheeled carts or trucks located within the vehicle storage area upon which freight is carried.
It is common to use pallets for supporting cargo wherein the pallet may be placed upon the vehicle floor or deck, and the pallet and its load can be readily handled by a conventional lift truck. However, there is often a need to improve material handling situations by mounting the cargo upon small wheeled trucks or carts which are rolled into the vehicle cargo area and the cargo remains on the cart during transportation whereby the cart may be used to quickly remove the supported load from the vehicle without requiring a lift truck.
While the transporting of wheeled carts and small trucks may facilitate cargo handling, the fact that the trucks are on wheels requires that the trucks or carts be restrained against movement during shipping as the supporting vehicle accelerates, decelerates and turns. In the past, cart restraints usually consisted of tensioned webs anchored to the transporting vehicle, or dunnage bars extending across the vehicle cargo space, restrained cargo movement. Both of these types of restraint devices have disadvantages because of cost, difficulty of handling, and limitations of usage.